Monday, December 31, 2012

Synopsis (From Amazon): It's senior year, and while Kenzie should be looking forward to prom and
starting college in the fall, she discovers she's pregnant. Her
determination to keep her baby is something her boyfriend and mother do
not understand. So she is sent to Spain, where she will live out her
pregnancy, and her baby will be adopted by a Spanish couple. No one will
ever know.

Alone and resentful in a foreign country, Kenzie is
at first sullen and difficult. But as she gets to know Estela, the
stubborn old cook, and Esteban, the mysterious young man who cares for
the horses, she begins to open her eyes, and her heart, to the beauty
that is all around her, and inside her. Kenzie realizes she has some
serious choices to make--choices about life, love, and home.

Review: "Small Damages" by Beth Kephart is a
riveting novel about love, loss, and finding out who you are. Kenzie is a good girl who makes a mistake. She ends up being sent to
Seville, Spain, where she learns about love and loss, responsibility and
freedom, and forgiveness and forgetting, all while going through pregnancy
and its complications. I thought it was a great read and that it flowed really well. 4/5 stars.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Something Strange
and Deadly is a horror novel that revolves around the 16-year old protagonist,
Eleanor Fitt, the daughter of a wealthy socialite family. She lives in a lavish
house in 1878 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, just after the Civil War. However, Philadelphia is being terrorized by resurrected corpses, and
nobody knows why. These corpses, nicknamed The Dead, are apparently being
controlled by an unknown necromancer. To make Eleanor’s life worse, her brother
Elijah has not returned from a trip, and her whole family is worried sick. To
seek help for her brother, Eleanor contacts the Spirit Hunters, a group of
paranormal exterminators, and unofficially joins them. The matters get worse,
the Dead get stronger, and Eleanor’s brother is nowhere to be found- worst of
all, Eleanor has to please her family’s demands and live up to her family’s
name. Will Elijah be found, and will the Dead be stopped?

Something Strange
and Deadly is a novel by Susan Dennard, and is the first book in a trilogy of
the same name. This is also Susan Dennard’s debut novel, so keep in mind that
this is her very first published book (congrats to her!). She is a new author
on the scene. The story itself is listed in the horror genre, but, to be
honest, I did not find this book scary at all. Sure, the idea behind it was pretty terrifying- walking corpses are indeed freaky, but I do not feel as
though this should be listed as a horror novel.This just wasn’t written scarily enough. SSaD was more of a mild horror
story- so if you want to read something that is technically a horror story but
isn’t too alarming- then this is for you. Also, SSaD is relatively
long with a 400 page span. However, the story only took me about three days of
intense reading (on a Kindle), so it shouldn’t take one that long to finish.

The storyline of
SSaD was, overall something that had great potential but did not quite live up
to my expectations. Normally, I wouldn’t reach for a story about walking
corpses, but this one seemed promising, so why not? Personally, I did actually
find the story interesting. However, the writing style didn't work for me. It seemed like something a high schooler would
write for a contest. If I were her, I would have edited the story big time
before I even thought about publishing it. First off, the writer’s style is choppy. The descriptive scenes are extremely limited; maybe two
sentences at most described the setting and characters of the story (then
again, she describes them over and over many times, so eventually you get the
idea). The action scenes are poorly written and are very confusing to follow-
it is more like a list of actions in paragraph form. To this day, I am still
puzzled as to what happens in the final battle scene! The main
protagonist’s name, Eleanor, is not revealed for several chapters.

In short; everything is told to us. There is hardly any suspense or thought involved in this story, which
makes it an easy read. We never wonder, “what is going to happen next?” or
“could this person be the villain?” because it is apparent very early on. I had no trouble figuring out the
main plot and the other characters’ personalities, since they are all quite
static. This, however, was a pretty nice break from my English class reading
list of Dickens and Shakespeare, so I am very much thankful for the ease of
this story.

Despite
the clunky style,
I could not put the book down. It is incredible how this book got to me! I
first got it and read about 20 pages and put it down for a while. After that, I
picked it back up, and could not leave my Kindle alone! I even snuck the Kindle
out in some of my classes just so that I could read it. The poorly-written,
overly piled action (seriously, in every single out of the 27 chapters,
something has to happen. You will not
see a chapter without some sort of event.) captivated me and
I literally could not stop reading the book! Maybe I was just drawn in by the
constant amount of stuff going on. I am quite confused as to how I disliked the style, but got pulled into the story, but since that is how it is, I would not question it and just enjoy the
story.

Continuing on with
the positives, the one aspect that I think Dennard completely nailed is the
romance aspect. There is a sort of third-wheel type of romance in the story
between Eleanor and Clarence Wilcox, a wealthy, eligible bachelor. Don’t worry,
this is not a spoiler because this is one of those obvious givens. However, it
does get quite interesting- I won’t spoil it here!- and Dennard leaves the
readers hanging for a long time. The story would tease us about something
that should happen, and yet it never does! This made me want to continue
reading. The whole time the teasers showed up, I was screaming at my Kindle “Just kiss already!!” And it made
me so happy when I was reading those love scenes that my heart was literally
pounding. I am usually not one to overreact like this to love stories, but this
book made me do it!!

Overall, the writing style did not work for me. It is chock full of choppy descriptions,
confusing information, rushed action scenes and static characters. However, it
is also one with an amazing love story which I will remember for a very long
time. The plot is pretty original, too, and I will say I look forward to
reading the second book in the trilogy as it comes out in July 2013. I already
pre-ordered it!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

The Edge of Nowhere, #1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George’s
debut novel for young adults, is a multi-layered mystery full of suspense and
intrigue. Readers that normally don’t go for mystery novels will enjoy the
relatable teen situations, innocent romance, touch of the paranormal, and dark,
enchanting setting. As a teen fiction novel, The Edge of Nowhere is exciting and enjoyable, and nails all the
points that readers familiar with the genre expect. In a literary sense,
however, I found the quality of the novel somewhat disappointing.

The underlying conflict of the story
is that Becca King, (whose real name is Laurel Armstrong,) is on the run from
her mother’s husband, Jeff Corrie, who murdered his business partner. Her
ability to hear peoples’ fragmented thoughts, called “whispers,” is how she
knows about Jeff Corrie’s crime, and also what makes her his next target. She
is sent to live without her mother on the remote Whidbey Island, where she is
to stay until she is brought to live in their new house in Washington. The
problems for Becca start as soon as she gets off the ferry, when things already
don’t go as planned. If trying to conceal her true identity and special power
is not complicated enough, things get worse for Becca when she gets tangled up
in the many secrets of the island.

Elizabeth George frequently
introduces new mysteries, and compels the reader to turn the page to tie up the
loose ends. The complexity of the novel is effective in getting the reader
engulfed by the story, and eliminates the aspect of predictability, commonly
found in teen fiction. The author’s expertise in spinning suspenseful and
thrilling tales is what makes the novel all the more intriguing, and will leave
the reader wondering what will happen next, until everything is resolved in the
last chapter.

To fully enjoy the book, however, I had to get passed a number of things; the style of writing, ambiguous character development, and unrealistic and sometimes
frustratingly poor decisions made by Becca King, (such as opting to spend the
night in a dog house already occupied by several Labrador retrievers instead of
taking up an exceptionally hospitable island resident on her offer to help her
out with anything she may need), make it hard to feel sympathy for the main
character. It seemed like the standard of quality may have been lowered by Elizabeth George
and her editor in producing teen fiction. The novel was rife with awkward phrasing,
punctuation errors, and unrealistic dialogue. If you are a teen-fiction
fan who is more interested in the story-line than the quality of writing in a
book, than these flaws will not detract from your enjoyment of the novel.

The characters in The Edge of Nowhere are contrasting in
appearance and personality, but not very well developed. While this may be
additive, in a few cases, to the mysteriousness of the novel, it fails to
invoke that feeling of familiarity to me, especially with Becca King. I thought her ability to hear peoples’ thoughts should be accompanied by an intuition
that is unique to her, but that aspect of her personality is not apparent. In
fact, nothing about her personality is obvious, as she is an under-developed
character. The opportunity to create an interesting, relatable heroin, which,
to many readers, is a crucial aspect in creating a successful teen-fiction
novel, was missed by Elizabeth George. However, there are plenty of other
interesting secondary characters, including Seth Darrow, a
misunderstood musician/high school dropout, Derric Mathieson, a kind, handsome
Ugandan boy, and Jenn McDaniels, the mean spirited fussbudget that nobody
likes. The romance that sparks between Becca and Derric that slowly develops
throughout the book is endearing and adds to the suspense factor.

Overall,
Elizabeth George’s The Edge of Nowhere
has an enjoyable, enticing story line that will keep you turning the page. If
you are less concerned with literary excellence and more interested in a novel
with a mysterious, intriguing, and romantic story-line, then this is a book
that you will enjoy.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Claire
is excited to have her first baby. As a birthmother in a dystopian society, it is
an important job. But once the baby is delivered with complications, she is
assigned to work at the fish hatchery, separated from her baby. Because of
this, Claire stops taking a pill that stops the people in the community from
feeling. She then becomes bored with her every day routine, and volunteers at
the house for infants so that she can see her child. But something goes wrong,
and after finding out that her child has been taken from the community, she
leaves on one of the delivery ships and it crashes. Claire then wakes up,
remembering nothing of her old life except small fragments of memories. Her
goal now is to try to remember her life, and once she does, to find the child
that was taken from her.

In
her last book of the series, Lois Lowry has done a solid job in closing out the
books. She does well in tying the books together and making connections between
them. The Son is mostly Claire
finding out who she is and what actions she takes once she finds that out, so
there isn’t as much action as I would have liked. Still, in the action scenes
that she does include, she provides great imagery and it is easy to picture the
scenes as she is describing them. Lowry also does very well in the development
of Claire herself. She provides scenes that reveal Claire’s character and her
feelings about where she is living and what she is doing. Halfway through, the
book switched gears, from Claire finding her child to Claire trying to understand her history. I was so involved with finding and re-attaching to the child, that
when the switch came, I found that the momentum slowed down. However, I did find myself near the edge of my seat as the book came to a close.

Overall, I think that Lowry does a good job of revealing the book’s
purpose, without actually telling it to the reader. I would definitely
recommend this book to people who like less action packed novels that explore themes of family, community, society and purpose.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Five years ago was when it
happened. That was when Jamie’s sister, Rose, died. Ever since then, his family
has been struggling to live on. His parents are broken up with grief. Rose’s
surviving twin, Jas, has gotten piercings, pink hair, just to rebel against the
expectations of her parents. And Jamie can’t understand why. To him, Rose is a
vague memory, and her days on the mantelpiece are much clearer to him. So here
we find a ten-year-old Jamie, and things have only gotten worse. Mom left on
Jas’s birthday with a man from support group and Jamie, Jas, and their father
are moving to the Lake District, for a new
start. In this new place, Jamie is faced with keeping his new friend, Sunya, a
secret from his dad, dealing with his dad’s drinking, and an increasing
desperation to bring his family back together. In this new town, things seem
like they could change, and here, Jamie’s family finally tries to come to terms
with grief they’ve held onto for so long.

This
book is short and sweet, but leaves you with a lot to think about. It provides
an expansive perspective into the ways people experience grief, with the
different struggles that Jamie’s family members go through to handle Rose’s
death. The story is simply-written, which fits perfectly with the point of view
of a ten-year-old. The author does a fantastic job with expressing the way
Jamie sees situations, as opposed to his parents and sister. I absolutely love
the style of the story; through simple thoughts and actions, you get all the
emotion, all the drama. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a book
that’s a quick read, but is still thoughtful and insightful.

Librarian announcement/interruption/yelling/hand waving: Two fantastic reviews for My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece! Both of our copies just landed back on the shelf as of the publishing of this post. Come and get it!!!

Monday, December 10, 2012

Jane Williams is another lost cause in a lost town, her
English crippled and her education lacking. She’s been switching between foster
homes since she was six, when her parents died, leaving her with no recollection
of any memories. With hard work at school she wins a scholarship to Birch Grove
Academy. She makes friends, and becomes infatuated with the son of the
headmistress, a beautiful boy called Lucky. But the headmistress and her family
are acting stranger and stranger, and recent events cause Jane to become more
suspicious. The wife of a teacher commits suicide. The girl here before her
left without a trace. As Jane discovers the truth behind these mysteries, she
finds out why she was actually brought to Birch Grove, and has to decide
whether it’s worth the fancy food and free housing.

Alright. I know what you’re probably assuming. Another
vampire novel. That’s what I thought too, when I first saw it. To be fair, it
really isn’t, but to be honest, the alternative is almost as bad. So in my
mind, I still consider it just another vampire story. Boring and overused. Jane
was an honest embodiment of a strong and lovely female, working hard and trying
to get by. She wasn’t a foolish dreamer, with a love of chemistry and all that
can be calculated and proven. She had personality. At the beginning. That soon
shattered to a desperate damsel in distress when you add oh so handsome brothers Lucky and Jack. They become all she ever
talks about, all she thinks about. She tutors Lucky in chemistry and quickly
grows a borderline obsessive crush, considering they’ve only known each other
for a week or so. Not to mention the fact that Lucky is a stupid, whiny,
arrogant child who only cares about fulfilling his own desires. But at least
he’s gorgeous, right? The only really redeeming part is Jane’s friends. From
her old town, we have Wilde, who’s a great depiction of someone barely trudging
along, doing what she must to survive. Wilde is broken and has gotten her hands
quite stained along the way, but she’s honest. From Birch Grove, there’s Mary
Violet, a fabulous girl with an art
for poetry and a love for the color pink. MV may be harsh and superficial at
times, but it makes her seem more human to me.

So personally, I think the storyline and concept are trite
and it gives all the wrong messages. “True love conquers all”? I don’t think
so. It focuses entirely on Jack and Lucky’s looks, and how they’re both totally
hot, but in “different ways.” It was all right, but personally I found it to be
a bit lackluster and maddening. If you like vampire novels and want something a
bit different, this would be quite thought-provoking and nice for you. I
suppose it’s thought-provoking for everyone, but it provokes annoyed thoughts
in the people who are sick of vampire books, like myself.